Financial News and Advice in Singapore

Your Money Horoscope for the Year of the Dog 2018

Wondering how your fortunes will fare this Year of the Dog? We breakdown your horoscope predictions, and what practical money steps you should take.

It’s the Year of the Dog; and if you’re a big believer in your horoscope, you’ll want to be prepared. Assuming the predictions are accurate, we’ve lined up some of the financial products that can help. Here’s what you should consider, based on your own Chinese horoscope sign:

1. Rat

Those born in the year of the Rat can prosper this year, but it comes at a cost: you have to be ready to take on challenges, and some degree of risk. There will be many opportunities for promotion or advancement at work, but it will come at the cost of new responsibilities and difficulties.

Your social life is likely to diminish this year, even as your income increases. You’ll be too busy with new tasks / responsibilities to hang out as much as you used to.

Rat signs risk a big financial loss if they get into legal disputes this year. It’s best to sue for peace early on, to avoid unexpected tussles in a courtroom later.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Consider products such as endowment plans, or Unit Trusts, with your rising income – being able to invest more will help your long term retirement plans. Don’t just blow your newfound cash on indulgences.

If you get into a financial dispute this year, try to settle out of court. Remember, legal fees can be ruinous, even if you do win a case.

2. Ox

Ox-signs are in for a quiet year, with few significant changes to their general prosperity. There will be more time for social interaction this year, as your job will remain relatively mundane, with few opportunities or disruptions.

Cautious investments can pay off, if the thought of stagnant money frustrates you. However, this definitely isn’t the year for high-stakes gambles for the ox; while you may not lose money, you’re also not likely to see high returns for any risk and effort you put in.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Stick to relatively safe, low-risk investments this year. Maintain the asset allocation in your portfolio, and don’t go out of your way to chase any fads (e.g. the crypto-currency craze we saw earlier this year).

Instead of investing too much, you may want to bulk up your savings. This will give you capital to seize opportunities later on, perhaps in the next year or two.

3. Tiger

The year of the Dog brings good opportunities to Tiger-signs. This is a good year for pursuing promotions, or for making career changes; employers are more likely to accede to requests for a pay raise (or to accept a higher starting pay, if you’re a job seeker).

Tiger-signs will find that their investment returns this year are stable, but with no big upswings either. You may need to get a little creative, and try alternative methods like starting a small side-business.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Set aside a bit of extra time or money, to pursue alternative income streams. Consider less conventional methods – for example, rather than buying endowment policies or equities, try raising your income by doing side-jobs (e.g.coding websites, driving an Uber, or even offering consulting services if you’re an expert in your field).

4. Rabbit

This is a good year for rabbit-signs to invest in long term gains. However, they must have patience. Rabbit-signs won’t see immediate gains from their investments this year; instead, any investments they make this year will pay off many years down the road.

It’s an especially good time for rabbit-signs to invest in themselves. Push yourself to learn new skills, even if it seems demanding or inconvenient. There are opportunities for pay raises and promotions, if accompanied by real effort.

In short, rabbit-signs will really reap what they sow this year.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Take advantage of schemes like the SkillsFuture programme, to upgrade yourself. You could also look for assets that provide long term capital gains, such as a well-balanced portfolio of stocks (speak to a financial advisor), or a Unit Trust.

5. Dragon

Dragon-signs must be careful to tame their egos, in the year of the Dog. Your fortune signs show that, if you’re not able to keep a low profile and exhibit humility this year, you’ll run into conflicts that could cost you financially (e.g. an argument with your boss, about the right way to do things).

There are limited prospects for career advancement this year, due to simple overwork. Dragon-signs will have a lot on their plate job-wise, and may not have time to pursue special projects or initiatives this year.

That said, there is a good chance of a one-off financial windfall this year. This should be spent with prudence, rather than on luxuries.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Be wary of how you invest your year-end bonus, lottery winnings, inheritance money, etc. Rather than spending on luxuries, consider saving a part of it (about 20 per cent), and then investing the rest.

6. Snake

Snake-signs will find this is a challenging year. They will see the emergence of many competitors, in areas such as work, finance, and even their love life. Frustratingly, there seems to be a rival trying to challenge them at every turn.

However, the competition is actually good for the snake-signs. They will learn something from their struggles this year, which will lend to their future success. Career prospects are especially bright, although they’ll probably come at the end of long struggles, with multiple rivals.

As for investments, timing is vital for snake-signs. They should refrain from making overly-ambitious plans this year, and instead save up for investments another time,

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Consider products such as the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs), which can give you returns of two to three cent per annum. You can also cash out any month, without losing the accrued interest. Stash your money here for the time being, and wait for better opportunities to arrive later on.

7. Horse

It will be a dull, but relatively peaceful year for horse-signs. While you’re not likely to encounter a big misfortune, investments may still frustrate you. You may find that, no matter what you try, your various investments produce average and unimpressive returns.

When there are opportunities for promotion, horse-signs need to think it through carefully. Many of these will involve positions that prove difficult or challenging; you may be pushed beyond your limits if you take such jobs.

This doesn’t mean you should automatically turn down opportunities for promotion; just be honest with yourself, and don’t take a job that you know you can’t do (it will just stress you out, and give you a bad reputation if you can’t handle it).

If you believe your horoscope, you should:

Follow your snake-sign counterparts, and set aside money for better investment options next year. This is a year for caution for patience.

8. Goat

This year brings prosperity to the goat-signs, in terms of both career advancement, and financial windfalls. However, goat-signs must be extra-cautious with any easy money that comes their way. People born under this sign tend to be overly generous, or carefree with their money; doing so this year could squander your entire windfall.

Career wise, you will encounter mentors or geniuses who are worth following. Be humble and open, as these people who benefit you with their knowledge.

There are many opportunities for goat-signs willing to go out of their comfort zone this year. You may discover a hidden talent when trying new things, or find that you’re unexpectedly good at jobs you never considered.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Take steps to beef up your own financial literacy this year, while also investing in skills upgrading. Seek out mentors (or just really smart friends), and really make an effort to learn from them.

Look into different hobbies and activities (creating game apps, painting, playing music, etc.) If you discover a hidden talent, someone may be willing to pay you for it.

9. Monkey

For monkey-signs who are sociable and make a lot of friends, this can be an easy year. But monkey-signs who are loners will face a rocky start; they may encounter rivals or obstacles to their work projects, or their business.

These obstacles clear up later in the year; but if you have good friends to help, you’ll get over them much more quickly.

Investment wise, the monkey-signs need to concentrate better. This is a good year for you to think long term (up to retirement), and formulate overall financial plans to reach such goals.

This is not a good year for monkey-signs to get involved in lawsuits; even if you win the case, you could find yourself in debt over the fees; any “victory” may not be worth it.

If you believe your horoscope, you should:

Speak to a financial advisor, or qualified wealth manager. Take another look at your long term retirement goals, and analyse the assets in your portfolio. Determine if these assets need to be changed, given the new global situation.

10. Rooster

Rooster signs have unusual luck this year. They will have many opportunities to make money, and greatly raise their income and wealth. However, each of these opportunities will have very short windows. You will not have much time to think things over, and will have to react fast to seize the opportunities. Be on your toes this year, if you want to be rewarded.

Also, while good career opportunities will emerge this year, most of them are unusually demanding. Married rooster-signs will find that, if they seize these opportunities, they will have little time for family and friends; their wealth will increase at the cost of their family life this year. They will have to make up their own minds, on whether it’s worth the trade-off.

Rooster signs who are single should be prepared to work extra hard this year. Take advantage of your independent status, to seize opportunities that could last a lifetime.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Raise your savings this year, and try to accumulate six months of your expenses as savings (if you haven’t already). This will give you the opportunity to pursue career changes, when the possibility arrives (it’s dangerous to attempt a career change with no savings!)

Speak to a qualified financial adviser, on building an active portfolio to meet your financial aspirations. You may want to allocate a safe portion of your wealth (five per cent of your total portfolio) to more high-risk, high-return alternatives. However, be careful not to overdo it; and don’t do it if the anxiety would distract you from your job.

11. Dog

Although it’s their year, the dog-signs need to be wary. Their fortune suggests the emergence of powerful competitors and rivals, and business is – as they say – a “dog eats dog” world.

Dog-signs who run their own business should be careful, and maintain a low profile. Any high-powered deals or acquisitions can attract unwanted attention. Those who are employees should avoid conflict in the workplace, and try to make peace quickly if an argument occurs. Dog-signs stand to suffer psychological and financial drawbacks from such showdowns this year, even if they win.

Dog-signs will benefit if they focus on defensive and passive investments this year; chasing trends will bring few rewards.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Focus your investments on low-risk, no-nonsense assets. One example would be blue chip shares. Older investors may also consider vanilla bonds, or other fixed income products that provide slow but consistent streams of cash.

12. Pig

This is a good year for pig-signs, with their fortune suggesting greater income. However, this is dependent on their attitude at work – your bosses will be especially sensitive to your attitude this year, and will reward or punish you accordingly.

Treat others with deference and kindness this year; the more compassion you display, the more you’ll find yourself rewarded.

While there are no signs pointing toward financial windfalls (don’t expect to win at 4D), it’s likely that you can find new income streams, or get a pay raise. You will have better long term rewards by saving more of your new income, rather than indulging in it.

If you believe your horoscope you should:

Consider increasing your CPF contributions by a voluntary amount, to better cover costs at retirement. Alternatively, consider putting more of your new income into an endowment plan, for long term goals like your children’s education.

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By Ryan OngRyan has been writing about finance for the last 10 years. He also has his fingers in a lot of other pies, having written for publications such as Men’s Health, Her World, Esquire, and Yahoo! Finance.

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